Sky Curtain: The opening scene explains the four major cases of the Ming Dynasty plus the early Ming

The red alarm light in the studio gradually dimmed, returning to its original dark golden hue, carrying a sense of historical weight.

Zhu Dijun slumped back in the black chair, grabbed a half-crushed water bottle from the podium, tilted his head back, and gulped down most of it before the violent heaving in his chest gradually subsided.

"Alright, everyone, let's put aside this current events-driven flame war for now. We've gone a bit off-topic, but we need to vent our emotions."

Zhu Dijun casually tossed the water bottle into the wastebasket with a dull thud. He placed his hands back on the podium, the fervor in his eyes fading, replaced by an extreme coldness that dissected history like peeling an onion.

"Let's take a deep breath and clear our minds of those Buryat wild boar hides. Now, let's return to the Ming Dynasty, to the Jiajing era, a time when intrigue and corruption were mastered to perfection!"

Zhu Dijun tapped the holographic keyboard, and the tattered Manchu dragon robe on the large screen shattered with a crash, replaced by a map of the Ming Dynasty's nine border defense lines from the 30th year of the Jiajing reign (1551).

"I just talked about the Gengxu Incident in the 29th year of Jiajing's reign. Anda Khan led his troops to plunder outside the capital, took the money, and left. The Ming court suffered such a severe beating that everyone from top to bottom was completely cowardly."

Zhu Dijun grabbed the pointer and drew two heavy circles on the map of Datong and Xuanfu.

"In March of the thirtieth year of the Jiajing reign, in order to temporarily ease tensions with the Anda tribe and also to buy peace, the Ming court reluctantly made an extremely frustrating decision—to open horse markets in Xuanfu and Datong!"

Two time points immediately popped up on the screen.

On April 25th, the Datong Horse Market opened.

In May, the horse market in Xuanfu opened.

"According to official historical records, these two horse markets were initially conducted in a fairly orderly manner, with transactions between the two parties being relatively well-organized."

Judy Jun sneered, a mocking smile curving his lips.

"But family members, considering what we just discussed about the smuggling network in Jiangnan, do you really think this is just a simple official trade transaction?!"

He slammed his hand on the podium, his voice echoing throughout the studio:

"Wrong! This is nothing short of a massive laundering operation by smuggling conglomerates!"

Zhu Dijun wrote four words in extreme violence on the whiteboard with a black pen: "[Money laundering by officials and businessmen]".

"The Gengxu Incident is over, and things are getting tense. How strict is the imperial court in cracking down on smuggling? Definitely! What about those Jiangnan salt merchants and Shaanxi-Shanxi logistics groups who made their fortunes smuggling ironware and gunpowder to the grasslands? They have tens of thousands of taels of silver worth of goods stuck in their hands, and they're as anxious as ants on a hot pan!"

Zhu Dijun zoomed in on the camera, his eyes like knives:

"Just then, the official horse market opened! This was practically a door to the treasury opened for smuggling rings! All they had to do was put up signs for 'official procurement' or 'legitimate trade merchants' on their smuggling convoys, and they could pass through the Xuanda defense line openly!"

A parallel Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty.

Inside the Fengtian Hall.

As Zhu Yuanzhang listened to the analysis coming from the sky, his old face darkened like a block of iron, and his calloused hands gripped the armrests of the dragon throne tightly.

"What a clever tactic of feigning an attack on one side while secretly advancing on the other." Zhu Yuanzhang coldly uttered these words, his teeth grinding together.

"Our Ming Dynasty's national policies have become a fig leaf for these civil officials and merchants to launder money. The border generals of Datong and Xuanfu have probably been in cahoots with these trading caravans for a long time! They were already trying to cover it up, but now they're not even bothering to pretend anymore!"

Zhu Biao, standing below, was pale. He knew his father all too well; whenever his father stopped being angry and started to sneer, that was often when his murderous intent was at its strongest.

"Father, the establishment of the horse market was originally a policy of appeasement."

Zhu Biao forced himself to speak.

"But if we allow merchants to take the opportunity to smuggle iron and gunpowder to the barbarians, the Xuanda defense line... will be in grave danger."

"Danger? It's more than just danger!"

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly stood up and kicked over the imperial desk.

"These beasts are using the Ming Dynasty's treasury and border defenses to fill their own pockets! Issue an edict to Mao Xiang to thoroughly investigate the border trade along the nine borders. If any caravan dares to smuggle even an inch of pig iron across the border, execute them on the spot, along with their goods! Exterminate their entire family!"

On the sky, Zhu Dijun's analytical blade suddenly shifted, directly cutting into the most bizarre court power struggle of the thirtieth year of the Jiajing reign.

"Family, if the horse market continues like this, the smuggling rings will quietly make a fortune, and Altan Khan will get the supplies without fighting. Both sides will be happy," Judy Jun said, spreading his hands.

"But in August of the thirtieth year of the Jiajing reign, disaster struck!"

On the large screen, Altan Khan's image was enlarged, with a line of text displayed next to him: "[Request to exchange cattle and sheep from impoverished herders for grain from the Ming Dynasty]".

"The Anda tribe wasn't entirely composed of high-ranking nobles; the impoverished herders below were starving. So Anda made a request to the Ming Dynasty: simply exchanging silk and luxury goods wasn't enough; we demanded the opening of a large-scale 'cattle and sheep for grain' exchange!"

Zhu Dijun grabbed a red marker and made a very forceful dot on the whiteboard:

"Is this request excessive? From the perspective of trade, it's perfectly reasonable! But as soon as this request was mentioned in the imperial court in Beijing, the Ming Dynasty's civil service, especially the notorious traitor Yan Song, suddenly jumped out like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and strongly opposed it!"

Immediately, a scene appeared on the holographic screen: Yan Song, dressed in a first-rank scarlet robe, righteously and awe-inspiringly rebuking the barbarians in the imperial court.

"Yan Song spoke righteously and sternly in court, denouncing Anda for his insatiable greed, insisting that the Ming Dynasty must be firm and absolutely not agree to the exchange of cattle and sheep for grain, and demanding that the border troops immediately prepare for war!"

Judy Jun let out a deafening laugh.

"To the uninitiated, one would think, 'Wow, Chief Minister Yan is a real tough guy! The backbone of the Ming Dynasty!'"

The studio lights instantly switched to an extremely cold, dark blue.

"But what's the truth? How could that old fox Yan Song suddenly turn into a patriotic and loyal minister?"

Zhu Dijun approached the camera and, in a low voice, delivered a chilling economic logic.

"Family members, let's do the math! Once the authorities agree to exchange cattle and sheep for grain, the official trade market will set an extremely transparent exchange rate! For example, one sheep will be exchanged for two shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain! With an official price, Mongolian herders can always buy grain at a fair price in the trade market!"

Zhu Dijun slapped his thigh suddenly:

"But this directly destroys the smuggling ring's livelihood! Why are the Jiangnan tycoons and Shaanxi-Shanxi grain merchants able to make such huge profits? Because they have an absolute monopoly on the black market for grain! They can make the profit of ten horses from a Mongolian for just one sheep! If the government liberalizes grain prices, who will still buy their exorbitantly priced smuggled grain on the black market?!"

The live stream chat exploded instantly, leaving countless netizens stunned by this unexpected turn of events.

"Holy crap!!! This is an economics twist! I'm getting goosebumps!"

"Yan Song's actions are not patriotic at all! He is using state power to eliminate official competition in order to protect the monopoly profits of smuggling tycoons!"

"Damn it! Absolutely damn damn it! Under the guise of a strong stance against the enemy, they're actually protecting their own black market!"

A parallel Chongzhen era of the Ming Dynasty.

Inside the Forbidden City.

Zhu Youjian stared intently at the sky, a trickle of crimson blood flowing down the corner of his bitten lip. He had always believed that the civil officials, quoting classical texts and arguing heatedly about war and peace in the court, were considering the well-being of the Ming Dynasty.

"The greater good... it's all in the name of the greater good!" Zhu Youjian's withered hands pounded wildly on the gold-brick floor, letting out a mournful, bitter laugh.

"They spout platitudes about benevolence and morality, about ancestral laws, but all they care about is their own pockets! I've been fooled by these scoundrels for seventeen years! Seventeen years!"

The parallel Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Di sat upright on the dragon throne, his eyes so cold they could freeze the air.

"What a capable prime minister! What a tough stance on war preparations!"

Zhu Di's voice was low and hoarse, revealing extreme cruelty.

"Using the fate of the Ming Dynasty to protect the livelihoods of smugglers. The Ming Dynasty's civil officials have managed to scheme so maliciously about state affairs. Boss, take a good look at this; this is the civil official group you're protecting every day!"

Zhu Gaochi, kneeling on the ground, trembled all over and dared not utter a single word in response.

On the sky, Zhu Dijun's scalpel completed its final touch.

"Under the frenzied deception of these smuggling tycoons' agents, our Emperor Jiajing, who was obsessed with cultivating immortality, was kept in the dark. Jiajing felt that Chief Minister Yan was right; the Ming Dynasty could no longer back down! It had to stand firm this time!"

Zhu Dijun drew a red X heavily on the screen.

"In August of the 30th year of the Jiajing Emperor's reign, the Jiajing Emperor officially issued an edict rejecting Altan Khan's request to exchange cattle and sheep for grain, and ordered all nine border regions to prepare for war!"

"And what happened? And when Anda received the imperial edict, he went berserk! If you won't let me exchange for cheaper grain, my herdsmen will starve to death! Well, I'm not exchanging it! I'll just steal it!"

The scene suddenly changed; smoke and fire rose along the Xuanda defense line, and countless Mongol cavalrymen, wielding scimitars, once again surged towards the Ming Dynasty's border fortress like a tidal wave.

"Just three months later, in November of the 30th year of the Jiajing reign! The Anda tribe completely tore up the agreement, and their army once again invaded Datong! The brief peace shattered instantly, and the Xuanda-Macheng market was completely shut down!"

Zhu Dijun placed his hands on the podium and looked directly at the camera.

"From the decision to open in March to the resurgence of the competition in November, this horse market only lasted a year and a half!"

The studio alarm began to blare again, low and resonant.

Zhu Dijun casually wiped away all the writing on the blackboard, his eyes becoming extremely deep and dangerous.

"The horse market is ruined, and war has broken out again. Anda wants to plunder, so the Ming Dynasty has to fight. What is most needed in war?"

He uttered each word slowly and deliberately, "Money!"

"But the Ming Dynasty's treasury has already been emptied by these corrupt officials and smuggling rings. Where will the funds for this new war come from?"

On the big screen, countless ragged people carried heavy baskets of grain, struggling forward under the urging of long whips.

"The money comes from the people. Since the higher-ups have no money, they can only keep squeezing it from the lower levels. The smuggling rings made money, Yan Song got his share, and Jiajing saved face. In the end, the cost of all the wars will fall on the already broken backs of the common people at the bottom of the Ming Dynasty."